Um er-Rasas was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
The
most important discovery on the site was the mosaic floor of the Church
of St Stephen. It was made in 785 (discovered after 1986). The
perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the
central panel, hunting and fishing scenes are depicted, while another
panel illustrates the most important cities of the region including
Philadelphia (Amman), Madaba, Esbounta (Heshbon), Belemounta (Ma'an),
Areopolis (Ar-Rabba), Charac Moaba (Karak), Jerusalem, Nablus, Caesarea,
and Gaza. The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic
masters signed the work: Staurachios from Esbus, Euremios, Elias,
Constantinus, Germanus, and Abdela. It overlays another, damaged, mosaic
floor of the earlier (587) Church of Bishop Sergius. Another four
churches were excavated nearby with traces of mosaic
